Michael Manley

Michael Manley (10 December 1924-6 March 1997) was Prime Minister of Jamaica from 2 March 1972 to 1 November 1980 (succeeding Hugh Shearer and preceding Edward Seaga) and from 10 February 1989 to 30 March 1992 (succeeding Seaga and preceding P.J. Patterson).

Biography
Michael Manley was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica in 1924, the son of Norman Manley, and he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He attended school in England and worked as a journalist before becoming involved with the trade union movement, becoming a full-time National Workers Union official in 1953. In 1962, he was appointed to the Senate of the Parliament of Jamaica as a People's National Party member, and he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1967. After his father's retirement in 1969, he became PNP leader, and he served as Leader of the Opposition until 1972, when he was elected Prime Minister in a landslide victory.

Manley instituted a series of socioeconomic reforms, and he also made the Parliament accessible to the people by abolishing the rule which stipulated that men sitting in on Parliament would have to wear jackets and ties. He also established a minimum wage for Jamaican workers, and he implemented universally free secondary education. He oversaw the redistribution of 14% of idle land, lowered the minimum voting age to 18 years, introduced equal pay for women, introduced maternal leave, outlawed the stigma of illegitimacy, greatly stimulated house construction, introduced subsidized meals, transportation, and uniforms for underprivileged students, increased pensions and poor relief, reformed local government taxation, expanded daycare centers, upgraded hospitals, implemented free healthcare, significantly increased education spending, and recommended that Jamaica become a republic. He also supported partnership with the Soviet Union to combat imperialism and closer ties with Cuba.

However, Manley's rule was controversial due to the rise in political violence during the 1970s, with PNP and rival JLP supporters engaging in gun battles. Manley declared that there was no place in society for a gun, and he declared a state of emergency in 1976 and ordered a suppression of crime that continued into the 1990s. In the election year of 1980, over 800 Jamaicans were killed. From 1980 to 1989, Manley was the Leader of the Opposition, opposing Edward Seaga's JLP government.

In 1989, however, Manley won re-election after softening his socialist rhetoric, advocating a role for private enterprise. He focused on liberalizing Jamaica's economy, pursuing a free market programme and holding moderate views. Manley remained Prime Minister until 1992, when he resigned for health reasons. He died of prostate cancer in 1997.